Accept failure.
Discard your perfectionist tendencies. You may think it's a sign of ambition or a strong work ethic, but perfectionism can get in the way of your success and happiness. may arise from the fear of appearing weak or vulnerable, holding you to unrealistic standards as well as making you interpret anything less than perfect as a "failure." It can even lead to procrastination due to the great fear you feel about failing to do a perfect job. Keep in mind that nobody is perfect; not Lady Gaga, George Takei or Neil DeGrasse Tyson. Neither are you and that's fine.
Reframe challenges and setbacks as if they were learning experiences. If you apply to a sports team and don't make it, don't assume you're a failure. Ask your coach if they can give you some feedback so you know what skills to improve. You can learn from all experiences no matter how unpleasant they are.
Don't overload yourself. For some students, using as many credits as possible each semester is a source of pride, but it is also a terrible idea. Have you heard the saying "He who covers a lot little squeezes"? If you take a lot of classes, you won't have the energy or time to perform well in all of them. It is recommended not to waste energy and ask professional writers to write my paper.
Enroll in 4-5 classes each semester. If you really want to enroll in more, check with your counselor, as they will generally be aware of the workload of the courses and will know if you can really take care of them all.
Introduce yourself to your teachers. Knowing your teachers will not only help you in your courses, but it will also give you the ability to ask them for recommendations later. A teacher will be able to write a better recommendation letter if he knows you a little more.
Find at least one teacher or faculty member who can be your mentor (at some colleges, you may be assigned a mentor or advisor).
If you have introduced yourself to your teachers, it will be easier for you to ask them questions and talk to them.
Ask about research opportunities. This is particularly important if you are pursuing a science-related career. It's never too early to start, especially if you plan to attend graduate school or medical school. Talk to your teachers about opportunities for undergraduates who want to participate in research.
You could even land a paid position as a research or laboratory assistant.
Create a study place. It is very important that you have a place dedicated to study. Trying to do all of your homework in a public place or in your bed will keep you from concentrating enough to be truly productive. If you have a place specifically dedicated to studying, you will be more likely to study when you are in it, which will also allow you to have fun and relax when you are elsewhere.
If you don't have a place to study other than a shared space, at least block out distractions. Wear noise-canceling headphones or listen to instrumental, relaxing, or white noise music.
You may find it helpful to have multiple study locations. If you get distracted or bored in one of them, go to the other. Some good places are the quiet coffee shops and the library.
Get organized. This is extremely important. If you go to college full time, you will probably have 4-5 classes, each with its own assignments and deadlines. You may also have other responsibilities, such as work, volunteering, social obligations, and athletic activities. Keeping up with all of these activities takes a bit of effort, but it has its benefits.
Get an agenda! You can use a small notebook or the calendar on your phone, but try to write everything in your planner as soon as you know it. With electronic calendars (eg Google Calendars), you can even set reminders about important events. You can set categories by color (eg athletics, homework, social events, etc.) if it helps. Having everything in writing will also let you know if you have potential problems that need to be solved (eg the team you are playing for will have an out of town game the same day you have an exam).
Organize the material by class. Set up a location on your shelf or desk where you can put the most important things. You do not forget the place where the books, documents, etc. are located. and try to use a neat folder for each class. Put the tasks in the respective folder to avoid losing them.
If you are going to follow a class with online components, be sure to log into the virtual platform regularly. Teachers typically post virtual ads that you might miss if you don't check back often.
Read the syllabus for each course. The curriculum is the holy grail when it comes to information for each course. There you will find the tasks that you will have, the deadlines in which you must deliver them and the score that each of them have. Read it thoroughly during the first week of school and copy important dates onto your planner or calendar.
If there is something that raises questions, ask immediately. It is very important to clarify any doubts before you spend too much time doing something wrong.
Go to classes. This sounds like a fairly straightforward thing, but it can be tempting to skip classes, especially during theory classes where attendance is not recorded. Avoid doing so, as you will lose valuable information and notices. In addition, you go to university because you hope to receive an education; What's the point if there's something you don't like to learn?
If your class has few members, the teacher will notice your absence, even if they do nothing against you. If you don't seem committed to the course, the teacher may not be willing to help you.
If you need motivation, consider calculating the cost of an hour of class. Suppose you study at Harvard University, where tuition and fees cost $ 45,278 a year. If you take five courses per semester (full time), then each class costs about $ 4527.80. In the typical 16-week semester, that means $ 282.98 per week, $ 94.32 per hour in a three-class-per-week course. Is that afternoon nap really worth as much as a hundred bucks? Most likely not.